Saudis Behind Surge of Beheadings

In recent years, the act of beheading
has become a popular trend among Islamist terrorists, who cite the Koran's
Sura Muhammad, Verse 4, as its theological basis: "When you meet in battle
those who have disbelieved, smite their necks; and after the slaughter
fasten tight the bonds, until the war lays aside its burdens. Then either
release them as a favor, or in return for ransom."

"Hitting the neck," or, in Arabic, "Darb Al-A'nak", literally speaking, is
one of several words in Arabic for killing. It is not "murdering," since
the word "murdering" carries a derogatory meaning.

It is simply "killing."
This word, which is taken from ancient Muslim vocabulary, preserves the
actual manner in which beheadings have been carried out. Therefore,
beheading is not seen as unusual or inhumane. It is an act of Islamic
punishment under sharia, or, Islamic law.

The beheading of Daniel Pearl in February 2002, followed by the killings
of Nicholas Berg, Paul Johnson Jr., and Kim Sun-Il, and the kidnappings
and threats to behead a growing list of captives, have garnered major
press attention for the terrorists as Arab satellite channels rush to air
these acts.

The recent killings of Westerners have been condemned by the Saudi royal
family. The Saudi Press Agency reported that the vice governor of the
Riyadh region, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz, expressed condolences on
behalf of King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz, to the wife of Paul Johnson. Prince
Sattam said that Johnson's beheading was a malicious crime that is
rejected by Islam, declaring that "this has happened for the first time in
the Kingdom."

However, the Saudi government has carried out beheadings as a form of
execution for breaking an assortment of laws. Examples posted by the Saudi
Press Agency include: In August 2003, a Sudanese and a Chadian were
beheaded for smuggling drugs into Saudi Arabia. An Afghan was beheaded for
peddling opium in September 2003.

A Pakistani and an Iraqi were beheaded
for smuggling heroin into the Kingdom in April of 2003. In October 2002, a
Palestinian was beheaded for murdering his father after an argument. Two
Pakistanis and an Indian were beheaded in the summer of 2002 for smuggling
heroin into Saudi Arabia.

The London Arabic daily Al Hayat reported on May 3 that the punishment of
beheading was about to be applied to the son of Prince Nayef Ibn Abd
Al-Aziz, Saudi Arabia's interior minister, who murdered another Saudi
citizen. In the end, he was pardoned by the victim's father. The life of
the killer, Prince Fahd, was spared on May 1 when "[Fahd] was brought to
the prison yard, his eyes blindfolded, and the executioner was prepared
with his sword to sever his neck...

In front of a large throng of citizens,
Prince Fahd begged the father of the victim: 'Save my life' Suddenly, the
father of the victim kneeled twice in front of Prince Fahd, who was lying
down in front of the executioner, [He] got up and to the cheers of the
crowd pardoned Prince Fahd and untied his hands."

Earlier this year, an Al Qaeda member in Saudi Arabia warned of beheadings
in his last will and testament. Hazem Al-Kashmiri, the son of a retired
leading general of the Saudi internal security force, informed the world
that Al Qaeda had "a message to the American soldiers. We promise that we
will not let you live safely, and you will not see from us anything else,
just bombs, fire, destroying homes, cutting your heads?"

The 18th issue of the Al Qaeda-identified journal Sawt Al-Jihad included
an interviewwith Fawwaz bin Muhammad Al-Nashami, commander of the Al-Quds
Brigade, which took responsibility for the May 29 attack at Khobar, Saudi
Arabia, in which 22 people were killed. Al-Nashami detailed how Al Qaeda
members cut the throats of non-Muslims, and in one case, beheaded one of
their victims - all as "acts of devotion to Allah:" "We turned to the
third site, found a Swedish infidel. Brother Nimr cut off his head, and put
it at the gate [of the building] so that it would be seen by all those
entering and exiting."

In what appeared to be a single case, the beheading of Daniel Pearl has
now influenced other Islamists in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Even in London,
the Web site of Islamist Sheikh Abu Hamza Al-Masri features video of
children pretending to behead other children. Islamic history includes
periods in which beheadings against infidels were a common practice, and
it seems that this cycle is about to repeat itself.
Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of The Middle East Media Researc
Institute (www.memri.org).